


Hazawa Spice Latte

by Symantra



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Afterglow Shenanigans, Coffee Shop, Confessions, Dating, F/F, Getting Together, Hazawa Cafe, Romance, Yukina needs a girlfriend, probably not that canon compliant, tsugumi as a tired fragile but sweet barista headcanon anybody?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:07:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25590325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Symantra/pseuds/Symantra
Summary: In the name of understanding how Afterglow got along so well with other people, Yukina was going to date Tsugumi Hazawa. Tsugumi is not averse to this.
Relationships: Background Udagawa Tomoe/Imai Lisa, Hazawa Tsugumi/Minato Yukina
Comments: 14
Kudos: 57
Collections: Free Story Sundays





	Hazawa Spice Latte

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thedailythoughtsoftsugumi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedailythoughtsoftsugumi/gifts).



“Lisa, I am once again asking for your cooperation. You are the only person I can ask about this.”

Yukina took another sip through her straw. Across from her, Lisa picked at the remains of her meal. Food nourished the brain, or something along those lines, which was why Yukina had treated her to a burger and fries today.

“Please, Lisa.” She leaned into the table. “You’re close to not one but all five members of Afterglow. There must be something about them that draws you to them, or vice versa.”

“Yukina,” Lisa started. Her usual smile seemed strained. “How many ways do I have to put it? Moca is my co-worker. Tomoe is my girlfriend. Tsugumi, Himari, and Ran are my friends. Me being close to them is not evidence that Afterglow has like, some kind of super charisma, or whatever you think it is.”

“Social magnetism?”

“Sure, let’s go with that.”

Yukina sat back in her booth seat. At first she thought this conversation would be a short affair, something like a five- to ten-minute explanation of how Lisa got along so well with Afterglow. But not once in the past half hour had Yukina’s line of questioning seemed to click with her.

“Then, there truly is nothing special about Afterglow?” Lisa speared her with a look, and Yukina corrected herself. “There is nothing special about Afterglow’s social abilities, though as a band I find them quite respectable?”

Lisa heaved a long sigh. “Yup. That’s what I’ve been trying to say this whole time. They are just. Normal. Girls. That I hang out with.”

“Okay. But you’re absolutely sure—”

“Oh god, Yukina, for the love of all that is holy.” Lisa put her face in her hands. “Just because I’m dating Tomoe doesn’t mean Afterglow is secretly a coven of witches. If you want to know for yourself so badly, maybe you should take one of them out on a date or something!”

“A date?”

Yukina rubbed her chin. As the head of Roselia, Yukina had never regarded dating as an effective use of time (for this, Lisa often called her a boring pragmatist). There were simply other, more immediate enterprises that needed her time.

Love, however, was not a career. It came along naturally and without premeditation. At least, that was what Lisa’s shoujo manga had taught her in middle school. Romance was more likely to appear on her doorstep in the form of beauty incarnate when she was unexpecting than it was to come after active searching. So she had decided to focus on making music, because fate had her covered.

But perhaps Lisa was onto something. Dating someone from Afterglow could very well expand her horizons. Her past self would have dismissed the notion, but then again, her past self had seldom paid much attention to the people around her.

“That could be an enlightening experience.”

“I know, it’s not an effective use of—wait. You’re seriously considering it?” Yukina nodded. Lisa appeared to be taken aback, but then she smiled and rose to her feet. “Huh. Well, okay. I was mostly saying that out of frustration, but if you actually want to, then good luck! Why don’t you start by trying to talk to them, normally? Just try not to antagonize Ran this time, okay?”

“You know that I can’t guarantee she won’t take my words poorly in any given circumstance.”

Lisa gave a clipped laugh and picked up her tray. “Okay, maybe it’d be best not to ask her then! Let me know how it goes. Thanks for paying for my food. I’m going to go unwind for the rest of the day.” Still smiling, she muttered in a smaller voice, “I think I need a vacation.”

Slightly worried, Yukina stopped her. “Are you requesting time off from Roselia? You know we’re performing next week—”

“Not what I meant, that’s not what I meant! I just need some me time so I can be in tip-top shape. So, I’ll talk to you later Yukina BYE!”

Yukina was not the best at reading emotions, but even she knew then to stop talking and let her go. Lisa scurried off, leaving her to finish slurping up the rest of a soft drink.

A date with a member of Afterglow—now that was something she had never considered. But if their drummer had Lisa so enraptured, then the idea had merit.

Then again, who would she pursue? Ran was likely to take such an invitation as an insult or a challenge. Another fiasco was the last thing Yukina wanted. And Tomoe was taken—though even if she wasn’t, matching her unending enthusiasm was too large a challenge.

Moca would have been a good choice, because understanding her would unlock many of the universe’s mysteries. But the level on which she operated was likely far beyond Yukina’s own. Likewise, Yukina felt herself nearly incompatible with Himari, whose integration and understanding with worldly affairs far eclipsed her own.

Then there was Tsugumi, whom Yukina had only known the pleasure of speaking to a scarce few times.

She was a hard worker with unwavering support for her fellows—she had plenty of devotion, which Yukina respected greatly. Though she often underappreciated herself to lift up those around her as well as spur herself to greater heights. That was a habit Yukina had learned to recognize from Sayo, who did the same thing.

Coincidentally, Tsugumi was quite attractive, and her sense of fashion was good. Something about the brown of her eyes and light colors of her clothes were just pleasing to the eye.

Her face was very expressive as well. Yukina enjoyed watching her expression change at the cafe; her faces of intense concentration while making drinks lit up when she found them perfect. Watching her was free dopamine.

Tsugumi also fully met all of Yukina’s standards. Firstly, she was very passionate about music, as Yukina knew firsthand from performing alongside her. Lastly, she did not mind having cats around. In fact, she was familiar with most of the cats in the downtown area. By all accounts, she was perfect.

That settled it. Yukina cleared the table and discarded her empty cup. In the name of understanding how Afterglow got along so well with other people, she was going to date Tsugumi Hazawa.

* * *

Fall brought many changes to Hazawa Cafe, including a change in menu, shifts moving around now that summer was over, and many customers asking about seasonal menu items. Asking, and asking. One after the other. Tsugumi couldn’t count the number of times she had to explain that a macchiato and a mocha were very different drinks, and only the second could be made with pumpkin purée unless you liked having weird pulp in your espresso.

And the next person to ask for a pumpkin spice latté at this establishment that _wasn’t even a Starbucks_? They were gonna have to deal with the guilt of making her cry.

Seriously. She was this close to breaking into tears. Tomoe had been talking about her girlfriend Lisa every day for the last week. As much as Tsugumi loved her and was happy for her, even she was starting to get tired of it. Afterglow’s jokes about exiling Tomoe and letting her join Roselia were starting to seem more serious with every passing day.

The door bell jingled.

“Welcome!” she greeted, swiveling toward the door. “Oh, Yukina-senpai! It’s nice to see a familiar face.”

Yukina gave her a nod, which was her customary response to almost everything. “Hello Hazawa-san. Are you busy today?”

“Ah, yeah! There were a lot of customers today. Things are starting to slow down thankfully. Eve-chan is off today too, so I’ve been the only barista on shift for a while now.”

Yukina hmed. “I see. However, that isn’t what I was asking; I apologize for not being specific enough. What I meant to ask by that question was, are _you_ busy today, Hazawa-san?”

“Me?” Worried she was being put to some kind of test, Tsugumi searched Yukina’s eyes for a shred of insight. She found nothing, though she did find Yukina’s eyes to be a very pretty color. “Y-yes? I’m working right now, so I am busy for the next hour. Is this a trick question?”

Tsugumi tried to laugh to lighten the mood, but Yukina didn’t join in. Yukina didn’t really smile often in general. Over the past month or so, Tsugumi had started getting used to that part about her, but it still made her nervous when Yukina watched her closely.

“When will you be finished with work? Have you got anything important to do afterward?”

Tsugumi gulped. “I-in an hour, at 5:00 PM.” She felt like a student that Yukina was making recite a rule that she had broken. “And I’m totally free after that.”

“Perfect. Would you like to go on a date after you finish work?”

“I—eh?”

Tsugumi’s mouth opened, closed, then opened again.

“Hazawa-san?” Yukina pressed.

Her co-worker called her name from the bar, and she jolted back to life.

“H-how about I find you a table first?” she managed to squeak out. With a stiff, short bow, she pivoted and marched Yukina to a seat where she wouldn’t be able to see behind the bar.

“Can I get you anything?”

“Sure. I would like a PSL.”

Tsugumi’s barista instincts kicked in, and in that instant her opinion of Yukina changed no less than 4 times. It would have changed more, but a fuse blew in her brain, and everything was shutting down.

“I believe it’s the name of a drink?” Yukina went on. “I’ve heard they’re popular and would like to sample one to see what the fuss is about.”

Her words fell on deaf ears. A blank stare was all Tsugumi could manage as she dissociated from her body and left this plane of existence.

Here was Yukina Minato of Roselia, strolling into her cafe on the second day of fall and ordering a pumpkin spice latté, but not before asking her out first.

She was going to need a lot of caffeine after this.

“Hazawa-san? Are you alright?” As Tsugumi’s spirit returned to her body, she realized Yukina was looking at her with concern. She also felt tears rolling down her face to her chin.

“No. Yes. Maybe not. I don’t understand the world anymore.”

Tsugumi smiled, though Yukina shifted in her seat.

“Was it something I said? If I’m causing you trouble, I don’t need to order anything.”

Quickly, Tsugumi wiped her face. “No, I’m sorry. It’s just been a long day.”

After explaining to Yukina what PSL meant and that she would need to go somewhere else to find out, Tsugumi took her new order—a pumpkin mocha—and went to the bar to make it. Her co-worker took a single look at her before giving her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder.

“If you need a few minutes, I can take care of everything for a while!”

That was all Tsugumi needed. Raising her chin, she smiled and slid over the chocolate and pumpkin purée. “Thanks. But I can’t abandon you to do all the barista work by yourself yet. I’ve got less than an hour to go, anyway!”

If Moca were here, this was when she’d drop the Tsuguriffic line. Tsugumi rolled up her sleeves and started pouring.

Having mastered working at the bar, Tsugumi made Yukina’s order in record speed and promised to talk to her after work. While she stayed behind the bar making drinks and relaying food orders to the back, her co-worker doubled down and went around waiting on all the tables.

When it came down to it, Yukina Minato was an incredible person. Her vocals were breathtaking, both to listen to and to attempt singing. Her entire life revolved around music as if she were a manga character or something. It didn’t matter if she was by herself or with Roselia: She pretty much already had her career.

And she was hot. All of Afterglow agreed on this with the exception of Ran, who argued with every fiber of dissent in her body that Yukina had average looks. Next to Yukina, Tsugumi would have felt out of place if not for the times Yukina had acknowledged her or smiled at her.

Yukina did have her quirks. She ranked about as socially inept as Ran and could be even colder still. It wasn’t until Tsugumi had gotten to know her—through a chance meeting around Valentine’s Day and again when they actually ended up performing together—that she had started seeming like a friend.

Also, she had the sneaking suspicion Yukina was some kind of closet cat fanatic, but she didn’t dare try to confirm it.

But dating? She had to be dreaming. What in the world had she done to get Yukina’s attention?

Tsugumi had entertained the thought once or twice—okay, more than that—of going out with Yukina. It had never been more than a fantasy though, and only because one of Afterglow’s inside jokes was going out with Ran’s sworn enemy. But Yukina really was insanely pretty, and Tsugumi would be lying to say her breath didn’t catch whenever Yukina looked right at her.

Yet, comparing their accomplishments, they pretty much lived in different worlds. But Yukina didn’t seem to feel that way. After all, she was sitting in a corner of the cafe holding a mocha to her lips. Tsugumi watched her add a third pump of syrup to her already sugary drink and almost overpoured the espresso.

“Why me?” she murmured to herself. Her hands shook a bit as she stirred in some milk. Her heart beat faster than the seconds could tick by.

An hour later, after taking off her apron and cleaning up after her shift, she ended up asking the same question, after Yukina had explained something about wanting to understand Afterglow’s bonds earlier—not that dating seemed like the best solution for that, but nevermind.

“Why me, of all the other Afterglow members? Why not, like... Himari-chan?”

“Hazawa-san,” Yukina said. “Can you imagine me with Uehara-san?”

Tsugumi tried. The image of Himari clinging to Yukina’s arm was so absurd it actually made her giggle.

“I guess not. She does like sweets though, just like you.”

“Indeed, but our similarities end there.”

Tsugumi swallowed. “Okay, but what about me? What do we have in common?”

She was half expecting Yukina to say, _“Nothing, but you always put the perfect amount of sugar in my drink,”_ or something like that.

“Well,” Yukina started, looking her in the eye. Tsugumi held her breath. “Like me, you work hard.”

“Is—” She hesitated. “Is that it?”

“Erm, well, no.” Surprisingly, Yukina broke eye contact and coughed into her elbow. “I was going to say more, but for some reason it slipped my mind... Ah. I remember now.”

Her cool look returned.

“Despite being a hard worker, you never fail to support those around you. I have been one of those people a few times, and you treated me with the same helpfulness as you would any of your friends or other colleagues. I found that quite touching, actually. When I thought about it, I realized the way you support Afterglow morally mirrors the way I push Roselia technically. Except with you, it’s a two-way street where your support inspires everyone including yourself. Your place in Afterglow is so valuable that it may as well be indispensable.

“In Roselia, I ensure we hold each other responsible for excelling individually. Sayo could easily take over for what I do as the band’s leader.”

“I-I don’t think that’s true!”

Tsugumi hadn’t meant to shout, but the praise Yukina had just heaped upon her had left her a bit flustered. She sat back in her seat and lowered her volume.

“You think so?” Thankfully Yukina didn’t seem to mind her outburst.

“Yeah, I do! No offense to Sayo-san. But it’s your ambitions that make Roselia what it is. If not for you, Roselia wouldn’t be striving for such great heights. To be honest, I can hardly believe that you’d look up to me, of all people.”

Tsugumi laughed a little, but Yukina shook her head. “There’s no need to place me on a pedestal like that. I’d prefer you and I stand as equals.”

Tsugumi’s heart gushed with warmth. Hearing that from Yukina was like taking a sip of a delicious drink.

“B-but anyway, we got a little off-topic. I wouldn’t mind going on a date with you, Yukina-senpai, even if it’s just one.”

“Well... Nobody said it has to be just one.” Yukina tilted her head. “If this one date goes well, then perhaps we could go on another. That is how dating works, is it not?”

Oh god. Tsugumi had passed out after her shifts before, but never because of something like this.

“That’s right! I’d... I’d love that. Now that you mention it, where are we going today?”

Yukina blinked. Then, with perfect composure and a face straighter than she was, she said, “I’d like to know if you have anything you would like to go before I make any suggestions. Unless you prefer me to choose the location. But, I’m opening it up to you first.”

Tsugumi did her best to stifle a giggle. Yukina was a disaster in her own unique way. “Alright! How about we walk around here, then? There’s plenty of stores, and we can get something to eat later.”

“Sounds good. Then, let’s get going, Hazawa-san. When you’re ready, of course.”

“Okay! Oh, and you don’t have to call me Hazawa if you don’t want to. Just Tsugumi works!”

* * *

About a month later, it turned 4:45 PM while Tsugumi was on shift again. All of Afterglow was assembled at the bar. Eve waited tables, and Tsugumi was behind the bar. It was a normal scene at the cafe, and Afterglow was totally unaware that Tsugumi was planning to drop a bomb on them. Eve already knew, but Tsugumi had told her to keep quiet for this.

Tomoe leaned over the bar to get Tsugumi’s attention. “You busy after work, Tsugu? We were talking about going to the arcade tonight. It’s been a while since I’ve creamed Moca in Taiko no Tatsujin.”

Moca narrowed her eyes in challenge. “Oho. You’re really eager to lose your win streak, huh?”

“Pfft, more like... win my win streak.”

“Wow, was that comeback laaaame.”

Tsugumi put the finishing touches on the latte she was making. “Sorry, but my girlfriend is picking me up today.” She poured a foamy heart onto the top of it.

Four pairs of eyes instantly locked onto her. She smiled, and nothing short of the sun exploding could wipe the look from her face.

“Holy shit, Tsugu.”

“Tomoe, you can’t swear in the cafe,” Tsugumi reminded her.

“Oh my god. Tsugu. You have a girlfriend?” Himari’s mouth fell open. “How long? Who is it? Why didn’t you tell us?!”

“I wanted to wait a bit, just in case it wasn’t working out you know? We’ve only been together for a month anyway.”

“You kept it from us for that long?! Tsugu, how could you?”

Even Moca had perked up. “Well don’t be shy. Who’s the lucky girl to win over our Tsugu?”

Tsugumi’s smile got a little bigger. “She’ll be here soon,” was all she said, to a chorus of protests.

“C’mon, don’t be like that.” Himari fixed her with one of her famous pouts. “Why don’t we try to guess? Is she cool or is she cute?”

“Hm...” Tsugumi pursed her lips. It would be fun to play along. After all, she would never get another chance like this. “I’d say she’s equal parts cool and endearing.”

“Mhm, mhm—wait, that makes it harder! Okay: Does she like sweets?”

“She does!”

“How tall is she?”  
“We’re pretty much the same height. Actually, I’m a bit taller.”

“Hanasakigawa?”  
“Haneoka.”

“Is it Hina?”  
“No, it’s not Hina.”

“Is she in a band?”

Tsugumi hesitated, but she couldn’t resist throwing them this one. “She’s in Roselia.”

In an instant, all of Afterglow was on their feet, and they were _yelling_.

“OH. MY. GOD?”  
“Duuuude, Tsugu’s got GAME.”  
“TSUGUMI. WHAT.”  
“Holy crap, Tsugu! You too?! Hahaha—wait a minute, are you dating my sister?”

Before Tsugumi could shake her head, the door bell jingled. Everyone in the cafe turned to look.

Yukina Minato surveyed the room. “Hm? Good evening.”

Tsugumi had already handed her apron off to Eve, who saw her off with a salute. “Hi, Yukina-chan! You look great today.”

“Tsugumi what the ACTUAL F—mmrrrgh—?!” Ran never got to finish as three pairs of hands shot out to cover her mouth and hold her down. Himari nearly slipped out of her chair, but she somehow managed to wave at Tsugumi.

“H-have fun Tsugu! We can take care of Ran! I hope. But in return, you better explain EVERYTHING later!”

Yukina held out her hand. Tsugumi took it. “Hello Tsugumi. You look great as well. But, would you care to tell me what’s going on?”

“Ahaha... I’ll explain while we walk. Let’s go before Ran-chan throws a fork at you. I’m really looking forward to trying out that new restaurant that opened in Akasaka!”


End file.
